yinjispace

ARCHITECTURE
Studio Arthur Casas
PHOTOGRAPHY
César Béjar
EDITOR
Gina
Collection

During the communication with Studio Arthur Casas, they informed us: "Since the establishment of the firm in 1990, the factor that has supported our continuous progress is not a fixed form of language, but a working method that has persisted until now: starting with listening, responding instead of updating. We have always regarded climate, landscape, light, culture, and human lifestyle as the initial clues for design. Buildings should not exist as 'objects' detached from the environment, but should be a result naturally grown from the site conditions." No matter how the scale changes, from residential buildings, hotels to furniture and urban projects, they always focus on the same issue: how to improve people's real and specific daily lives through the organization and perception of space.

YINJISPACE: Your work often feels simultaneously Brazilian and international. How do you balance a strong connection to Brazilian modernist traditions with projects developed across different cultural and geographic contexts?

Studio Arthur Casas: Brazilian modernism remains an important reference, particularly its relationship with climate, openness, landscape, and material honesty. But I don't approach projects with the intention of exporting a Brazilian language. Every project begins with its own context. What travels from one place to another are certain principles rather than forms: the importance of natural ventilation, the continuity between interior and exterior spaces, the use of light as a design tool, and a certain informality in the way spaces are inhabited. Those ideas can be relevant in very different parts of the world while still responding specifically to each place.

YINJISPACE: Across projects as diverse as private homes and hospitality spaces, there seems to be a recurring interest in creating environments that encourage people to gather, interact, and spend time together. What role does architecture play in shaping human relationships and everyday life?

Studio Arthur Casas: Architecture cannot determine human behaviour, but it can create the conditions for certain interactions to happen. The way spaces connect, the presence of natural light, the relationship between private and collective areas, the generosity of circulation, or the integration with outdoor spaces all influence how people meet, share experiences, and spend time together. I've always been interested in creating places that encourage those encounters. Whether in a family home, a hotel, or a larger urban project, architecture becomes meaningful when it supports life, relationships, and a sense of belonging.

With a woodland backdrop and the horizon ahead, Baroneza House is set into a careful reading of the topography of a sloping site. Designed in the Quinta da Baroneza condominium, in the countryside of São Paulo, for a family that values togetherness, the residence redefines the traditional logic of site occupation and inverts the usual programmatic arrangement. By placing the social level on the upper floor - the highest point of the site - the design fully takes advantage of the privileged dual view, allowing the space to open continuously toward the landscape. Two large volumes are articulated by a central reflecting pool, while expansive sliding glass panels promote air circulation throughout the interiors, contributing to cross ventilation and the natural cooling of the house.

Above this fully integrated floor, a glulam (glued laminated timber) roof unfolds into two sloping planes in a design reminiscent of open wings. The structure was conceived to maximize the entry of natural light while ensuring shading and thermal control. Rarely seen in Arthur Casas’s work, the use of a roof form explicitly associated with traditional pitched roofs becomes one of the central elements of the project, requiring rigorous technical development to define alignments, wood tone, and construction precision. In addition to its environmental performance, the timber structure enabled a dry-assembly system with prefabricated components, providing greater agility during the construction process.

The materiality of the house reveals itself differently in each overlapping volume. The upper body appears in exposed concrete, crowned by the timber roof - the most expressive element of the project. The lower volume, partially embedded in the ground, also combines concrete and wood, though in a more restrained way and more integrated with the terrain. Natural stone flooring extends from the interior to the outdoor areas, establishing visual continuity and directly dialoguing with the pool, which is also clad in stone.

On the lower level, glass bricks allow zenithal lighting into the stair hall that provides access to the suites, organized around a garden protected by a retaining slope that separates the house from the street and public sidewalk. This configuration ensures abundant natural light, privacy, and a direct relationship with greenery without exposure to the immediate surroundings. The layout prioritizes clear and efficient circulation, with smooth transitions between collective spaces and more private areas.

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